When it comes to reporting on ecumenical and interfaith issues, no one in English North America does it better than The Catholic Register.

That was the opinion of the judges of the Catholic Press Awards, which awarded The Register first-place honours in that category for bringing “the topic to life.”

It was one of 13 awards — including two first-place prizes — won by The Register’s writers, editors, photographers and design staff at an annual awards banquet held June 15 in Green Bay, Wisc.

In addition to its first-place honours, the paper earned three second-place awards and eight thirds, including being named third best national paper, at a ceremony conducted by The Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada.

The Register’s top prize for ecumenical and interfaith reporting was shared by Associate Editor Michael Swan, interfaith columnist Fr. Damian McPherson and Publisher and Editor Jim O’Leary for analysis in three separate articles about the 500th anniversary of the launch of the Reformation.

“This was a timely topic,” the judges said. “The reporter’s commitment to varied sources, the complementary sidebar and the rallying-cry editorial collectively brought the topic to life.”

The other first-place award also recognized a team effort. In the category of Best Supplement, The Register’s annual Estate Planning section was called “outstanding” for twinning important late-life planning information with “inspirational stories” that provide a “wonderful reminder about dying for the living.”

In addition to sharing a first-place prize, Swan won two-second place awards (for investigative news writing and social-justice reporting) and further demonstrated his versatility with five third-place prizes for his writing in five different categories: international news, religious liberty,pro-life issues, worker’s rights and nuclear disarmament.

The impression Swan made on the judges was summed up by their comments on his second-place award for an article that examined Canadian mining practices in Latin America, which the judges said, “made complex issues accessible” and got “to the heart of the matter.”

The Register’s other second-place prize came for its special Christmas issue, which was called “an outstanding effort reminding us what Christmas is all about.”

Lucy Barco won a third-place prize for a “clean and easy to read” layout and design of a feature called “Save our kids.” The Register also won third place for editorial writing for an editorial on nuclear disarmament that was praised for its “clarity and logic.”

The Register also earned three honourable mentions: by reporter Jean Ko Din in the category of family and community in which she recounted a trip home to the Philippines; by David Chen for layout of an article; and by Vincenzo Pietropaolo for multi-picture feature package.

One of the more interesting annual exercises for just about any media website is to see which stories gathered the most attention over the last 12 months.

The Catholic Register is not a destination for a lot of "viral" stories of the Kardashian variety, but nevertheless, with its mandate of news for Canadian Catholics, web site numbers provide a look into the kind of stories our readers gravitate to and share on social media.

When you subscribe to The Catholic Register Digital Edition you receive complete and unlimited access to The Catholic Register Archive, comprising every issue of the paper since 1893.

A complete replica of every print issue of The Catholic Register is available in digital format, which means the entire paper can be read — anywhere, anytime — on your smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer.

The Digital Edition has the same great content as the print edition PLUS it often has additional features: more articles, more photos, colour throughout, plus audio and video clips.

Digital Edition subscriptions start at just $9.99.

To learn more, please keep reading.

There is now one more reason to subscribe to The Catholic Register Digital Edition: We have expanded The Catholic Register Archive so that all 125 years of past issues are available at no extra cost to Digital Edition subscribers.

Every active digital subscription comes with free and unlimited access to all past issues from 1893 to the present.

The Digital Edition and the Archive require no special app or plug-in. Access is simple anywhere the Internet is available.

Catholic Register reporters, editors and designers were recognized for another year of outstanding achievement by taking home 14 awards, including eight first-place honours, at the annual Canadian Church Press gala dinner April 29 in Toronto.

Associate editor Michael Swan led the way with three first-place and two second-place awards. Art Director Lucy Barco (two firsts) and Youth Editor Jean Ko Din (a first and a second) were also multiple winners.

“I can’t remember a year when we’ve received so many honours,” said Publisher and Editor Jim O’Leary.

“It’s a tribute to the entire Register staff.

“But maybe the real winners are our readers. Ultimately, they’re the beneficiaries of all the hard work and dedication behind these outstanding efforts.”

Swan’s trio of first-place prizes came from a special series The Register produced in 2015 from Africa. He was recognized for in-depth news reporting for articles from a refugee camp on the Ethiopia border with Somalia, which the judges praised for “providing a 360-degree view of the refugee crisis in the Horn of Africa.” The same assignment also gave Swan a top prize in news photography for a “very powerful” photo of a hungry child that the judges said “inspires the reader,” as well as first place in feature photography for “a wonderful piece of photo journalism.”

Swan’s second-place awards were for a feature on African hunger and a news report on Syrian refugees.

Barco won a first-place award for what the judges called “an awesome” front-page design on the subject of Pope Francis and climate change. She also shared a first-place prize with Managing Editor Mickey Conlon for layout of an in-depth feature.

Ko Din took first place in the “department” category for her editing of The Register’s popular Youth Speak News section, which was praised for its simplicity, design and writing. She was runner-up in the biography category for a feature on St. Junipero Serra.

Freelance photographer Mossa Faddoul took top honours in the category of photo essay for a Mother’s Day feature layout. The Register also won first place in the category of editorial writing for an editorial on Omar Khadr.Register columnist Bob Brehl and contributor Herman Goodden both won second-place awards, Brehl for opinion writing and Goodden for personal reflection. The Register’s newest columnist, Deacon Robert Kinghorn, placed third in general column writing.

1. Go to the renewal menus listed below and select the region that applies to you — either Canada, USA or International.

2. Open the appropriate option menu and select a renewal preference.

3. Click "Add to Cart" below the drop-down menu.

When you click "Add to Cart" a shopping cart will open in a new secure window. [We use PayPal to assure a safe, secure transaction, but please note: You do not need to have a PayPal account in order to make an online renewal payment. You can pay with Visa or MasterCard.]

Double check your order and then click the "Check Out" button.

You will see a new screen that prompts you to "Choose a way to pay" You have two options:

i) Pay with a PayPal account — Select this option if you are registered with Paypal and want to use your PayPal account to make your renewal payment

ii) Don't have a PayPal account? Select this option to make a one-off credit card payment by Visa or MasterCard. Choosing this option means your payment will be securely processed as a Paypal guest.

Use this menu only if you live in Toronto or a nearby municipality AND you currently receive your newspaper by newspaper carrier. If you wish to upgrade to Canada Post delivery, please refer to the Canada Post pulldown menu above. Need help? Call us toll free: 1-855-441-4077 ext. 404

RENEWAL - Select your subscription

Renewal - 1 year - 52.71 CAD

Renewal - 2 years - 96.05 CAD

Renewal - Senior/Student - 1 year - 47.35 CAD

Renewal - Senior/Student - 2 years - 86.90 CAD

Use this menu only if you live in HST Compliant Provinces - Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotiaor Newfoundland. Need help? Call us toll free: 1-855-441-4077 ext. 404

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Catholic Register writers and editors were honoured with 10 awards, including three first-place prizes, at a gala banquet held June 20 to recognize excellence in Catholic journalism.

The three first-place awards all related to a special section The Register published in September 2013, titled "Syria in Crisis", that highlighted the suffering of tens of thousands of war refugees from the Syrian civil war. The awards of excellence are presented annually by the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada.

Associate editor Michael Swan, who provided on site reporting and photography from the Middle East, took first place in two categories for his Syria report: best in-depth news reporting and best special supplement with an editorial emphasis.

The judges praised the report as "wonderfully ambitious and produced."

"The strength of the writing makes this stand out in a tough field," said the judges. "This brought the crisis to life with all its sadness and hope," they added, while lauding Swan for "exceptional writing and thorough, detailed reporting."

The Register also won first place in the category of best special supplement with an advertising emphasis. That award recognized the Register's collaborative effort under Managing Editor Mickey Conlon, Sales Manager Terry Halata and Art Director Lucy Barco to produce a section that told a compelling story while also providing advertising partners space to appeal for donor support of their relief efforts.

The judges said The Register succeeded in making "an impassioned plea to help families in Syria that appeals equally to the mind and heart."

In addition to the three first-place prizes, The Register also won three second-place prizes, two thirds and received two honourable mentions.

The three seconds were in the categories of best seasonal issue for its Christmas edition; best editorial for its response to a 2013 workplace tragedy in Bangladesh; and best reporting on young adults for a series of columns published in The Register's Youth Speak News section. The YSN columns, under the direction of editor Ruane Remy, were written by Beatriz Jereza, Suzanne Joanes and Enrique Olivo.

"Giving teenagers a voice is dangerous, but it also lets them share their lives and faith," the judges said. "A job well done in Youth Speak News."

Swan won two other awards. His report from Syria placed third for the Gerrard E. Sherry Award for best analysis/background reporting, and he received an honourable mention in the category of best feature story for a lengthy piece titled "Rethinking the parish concept."

The Register's other third-place prize was won by Fr. Raymond de Souza who demonstrated his versatility by being recognized for sports writing for a column titled "Musial, Mantle and manly virtue."

After taking first place last year in the category of overall general excellence, The Register received a honourable mention in that category this year as the top prize was awarded to the National Catholic Reporter of Kansas City.

WINNIPEG - The Catholic Register’s veteran reporter and photographer Michael Swan was awarded four first-place prizes at the annual Canadian Church Press gala dinner.

Swan, the paper’s associate editor, was recognized with two writing awards and two for photography for his work on a pair of overseas assignments. The awards were presented May 2 in Winnipeg by the Canadian Church Press, an ecumenical organization of Christian publications.

“Michael has won dozens of awards over the years, but these ones were particularly well deserved,” said The Register’s publisher and Editor Jim O’Leary. “His work last year in Rome and in the Middle East under difficult circumstances was outstanding.”

Swan won first place for in-depth treatment of a news event for his deadline reporting from the papal conclave in March 2013 that elected Pope Francis. The name of the new Pope was announced about two hours before The Register’s deadline, yet Swan delivered what a judge praised as “solid, informative journalism produced under a tight deadline.”

“Even journalists who had the luxury of time didn’t do as good a job,” the judge said.

Swan won another first-place writing prize in the category of feature reporting for a package of stories from the Middle East in September 2013 that gave an in-depth look at the refugee crisis in war-torn Syria.

He was praised for his “original treatment” and for “thorough” reporting that comprised a “broad range of information and sources.”

His Syria assignment also won two first-place prizes for photography, in the categories of news photo and feature photo. His news photograph of a teenager who was left permanently impaired from a serious head wound was called “wonderful work” and an “extremely powerful image” that “moves your feelings.” He also shot a feature photograph of a woman standing guard over a sleeping child that was called “evocative” and made “the reader want to know more,” said the judge.

Swan’s Syria coverage was also a runner-up for the A.C. Forrest Memorial Award, presented annually for excellence in religious journalism. The Register also won six other awards — a second place for an editorial on the death of Nelson Mandela, and five third-place awards in the following categories: feature layout and design, edition layout and design (both awards shared by managing editor Mickey Conlon and art director Lucy Barco), biographical profile (Ruane Remy), editing of a department (Remy for Youth Speak News), and original artwork (high school student Jomalaine Mae Cinense for the cover of the 2013 Christmas issue).

TORONTO - Joanne McGarry was a lot of things to a lot of people — an advocate for Catholic civil rights, a Catholic journalist and a dedicated colleague to some, to others always be a dear friend, loving wife and caring mother of three. Now to all she is an angel in heaven.

“Take the time to remember the things about Joanne that are going to stay with you,” said Fr. James Hannah in his homily at the May 1 funeral for Ms. McGarry. “She will continue to live on in our minds and our hearts in those memories.”

About 150 of those who knew Ms. McGarry packed into Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in midtown Toronto to pay their last respects to the woman who for the past decade was the Catholic Civil Rights League's executive director. She also wrote a monthly column for the past five years for The Catholic Register, where she was once managing editor.

“We don't come just to grieve or to remember, we also come to celebrate,” said Hannah, pastor of the parish where Ms. McGarry and her family were among the congregation. “We come to celebrate the new life that is hers. The new life that is hers in the passing from this life to the next.”

Many who attended the funeral gathered in the parish hall following the ceremony where within minutes the room rumbled with echos of memories, reflections and the occasional sob.

“It was a wonderful celebration, she would have been so excited about the whole thing,” said Jim Hughes. “She will be receiving her eternal reward. I don't mean to second guess the good Lord but I would say that something good is in store for her.”

Hughes, president of Campaign Life Coalition, first met McGarry about three decades ago when she interviewed him for The Catholic Register.

“She was someone who would not give up on a story,” he said. “She would not just take something at face value, she would go beyond and look behind the scene. You won't be able to replace her with a person of that calibre.”

Ms. McGarry, 60, passed away on April 28 after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer which she often fought in silence. Her passing caught many, like Hughes, off guard.

“I was shocked,” he said “I knew she wasn't well but I had no idea she was that far along.”

Longtime friend Karen Dalton, who graduated with Ms. McGarry in 1976 from the University of Western Ontario's journalism program, was also surprised by her friend's death.

“It was a surprise,” she said. “It (the cancer) seemed that it was being managed and she looked well.”

For the past 20 years the two would get together for quarterly dinners where they'd spend hours sipping wine and sharing stories both past and present. Dalton said she will always remember the last time they broke bread and tipped a glass together.

“My fondest memory was the last time we were together,” she said. “We had dinner in November and she was just very very at peace with herself and really enjoying her life. I can just picture her at the table.”

But one person, Ms. McGarry's husband of nearly 30 years, David Paolini, wasn't exactly surprised.

“Joanne carried the fight on for 23 months after diagnosis,” he said after returning from the cemetery. “Generally pancreatic cancer, which is a real lethal one, takes one within six months. So we were happy for almost two more years together.”

Although the days since his wife's passing have been “busy, stressful,” and most of all “hard,” Paolini said his belief that Ms. McGarry is now in heaven is easing the pain.

“Our shared belief in the Resurrection is helping me through,” he said.

TORONTO - A voice committed to faith and fairness has been silenced. Catholic Register columnist and executive director of the Catholic Civil Rights League Joanne McGarry succumbed to pancreatic cancer April 28. She was 60 years old.

Ms. McGarry’s career spanned journalism, business, public relations and advocacy. Her personal life was devoted to family — a husband and three adult children. She passionately engaged in battles in defence of the Church, including its teachings on life, family and education.

Her education at St. Joseph’s College and the University of Western Ontario led to her first career in Catholic journalism, where she landed as managing editor of The Catholic Register. Mike Mastromatteo remembers catching on with The Register when Ms. McGarry hired him as youth editor in 1984.

“She was pretty supportive as a mentor,” said Mastromatteo, who still works in journalism for an engineering trade publication. “I thought this was someone I would want to emulate if I wanted to work in the Church press.”

Ms. McGarry’s commitment at The Catholic Register went beyond the requirements of a good and loyal employee.

“Trying to live the faith meant a lot to her. You could tell that she handled the position as more than just a job,” Mastromatteo said.

In the 1980s Campaign Life Coalition president Jim Hughes frequently dealt with Ms. McGarry as The Register covered the abortion issue.

“She was always somebody that listened,” recalled Hughes. “She examined the facts thoroughly and then reported them accurately. She was a great writer, a lovely woman.”

Ms. McGarry’s experience covering the bitter, passionate abortion debate led her to a lifelong interest in how the Church and its teachings are portrayed in daily media — newspapers, television and radio.

“She was so concerned with what was being written, the different shades of truth that were written, that she felt she had a duty to do everything in her power to see that the (Catholic Civil Rights) League would respond to these things,” said Hughes. “She was somebody who wasn’t afraid to speak up and tell it like it is.”

Ms. McGarry became executive director of the CCRL in 2004 after more than 10 years as a communications and marketing expert in private industry. She worked for Speedware Corporation and JM Associates editing and producing magazines for the Canadian jewellery industry. As a private media consultant she helped businesses with media training and strategy.

Landing Ms. McGarry as executive director of the Catholic Civil Rights League was a moment of serene serendipity for CCRL president Phil Horgan.

“To find someone who was capable, confident, competent and prepared to take on what is sometimes a thankless job was a delight for us,” Horgan said.

The tiny organization with a limited budget suddenly found itself with a lively and always current web site, professionally written press releases and the savvy to be heard on Catholic issues in publications such as The Globe and Mail and The National Post and on broadcasts including TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin, Metro Morning and the Michael Coren Show.

“That’s a hard role. It requires some maturity. It requires an element of faithful consideration of how to best deal with some very difficult issues,” said Horgan.

Ms. McGarry made her return to The Catholic Register in 2009, when newly appointed editor and publisher Jim O’Leary asked her to write an op-ed essay about a frenzy of media misinterpretation of Pope Benedict’s remarks on condoms and AIDS while flying to a pastoral visit to Africa.

“She was happy to oblige and did a solid job. I then asked her if she would write a monthly column that looked at how the media treated the Church,” O’Leary said. “She was one of the first people I contacted to join the writing team at The Register when I became editor. Her column on the media never failed to provide insight into how the secular media viewed the Church. She was passionate about the topic and always passionate in her defence of the Church. We will miss her greatly.”

Her focus was on the issues and never on herself, said Horgan. When Ms. McGarry was diagnosed with a form of pancreatic cancer over a year ago, Horgan wanted to notify a broad circle of friends and supporters of the CCRL to request their prayers. But she didn’t want that.

“She requested that we maintain radio silence on that,” Horgan said.

She survived the deadly cancer longer than anyone expected and continued working through rounds of chemotherapy. On the Thursday before her death she had a round of chemo on her agenda, but only after she sent out notices for the CCRL’s annual dinner coming May 22.

At press time Ms. McGarry’s visitation was scheduled for the Rosar-Morrison Funeral Home and Chapel in Toronto, 467 Sherbourne St. on April 30, 3 to 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial was to be celebrated at Our Lady of Perpetual Help May 1 at 10 a.m.

Ms. McGarry leaves her husband David Paolini and her children Laura, Sarah and Daniel Paolini.

Catholic education, the Jesuit community and the Church suffered a great loss on Sept. 26 with the passing of Fr. Carl Matthews.

"It was the significant end to an era," said Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, a Jesuit himself who'd known Fr. Matthews for 50 years. "I saw him in August and noticed how frail he was but he was quite upbeat. He always had a positive attitude."

Fr. Matthews, 80, died peacefully at Rouge Valley Hospital in Ajax, Ont. Since retiring from parish life in 2010, he had lived at the Rene Goupil Jesuit Infirmary where his health deteriorated.

"He would probably thought it quite fitting that he died on the Feast of the Canadian Martyrs; that was an important devotion for him," said Prendergast. "He went very quickly at the end. People were expecting him to hang on for another week or two but the Lord called him home on that feast day."

Fr. Matthews, ordained on June 4, 1966, played many roles within the Catholic community. He was a priest, publisher of The Catholic Register for three years and served for 14 years as a trustee and then chair of the Metropolitan Separate School Board, the precursor of the Toronto Catholic District School Board. He made his most lasting mark in education, where he was an instrumental figure in establishing full funding for Ontario Catholic schools.

"I would say that he was in love with Catholic education and was a brilliant and dogged defender of our Catholic schools and our right to full funding," said historian Michael Power, author of the 2005 biography Jesuit in the Legislative Gallery: A life of Father Carl Matthews, S.J. "He learned a lot from his father who was a school inspector, but he was essentially self taught in the matter of school finances. He engineered the clinching deal on full funding."

Fr. Matthews' involvement in the funding debate began when Cardinal Gerald Emmett Carter returned from Rome in 1979 following his elevation to cardinal by Pope John Paul II. Carter, archbishop of Toronto, pulled Fr. Matthews aside and told him that the one thing he hoped to accomplish as a cardinal was to secure full publicly funded Catholic education in Ontario.

Carter asked Fr. Matthews to draft a brief but compelling argument to present to the government on the matter.

"So he left the room and within three weeks had a 12-page memorandum written," said Power. "He never heard another thing about it until in 1984 he got a call from the Cardinal's office saying listen, the premier has phoned the Cardinal asking for another copy of that memorandum. Shortly thereafter the big announcement was made."

Prior to the 1984 announcement, the province only provided subsidies up to grade 10 for Catholic schools, leaving students in grades 11, 12 and 13 to pay tuition costs.

Born in Kingston, Ont. Fr. Mattews attended his hometown's Regiopolis College before entering St. Stanislaus Novitiate in Guelph, Ont. in 1951. After first vows and two years of Juniorate, he went on to Regis College in Toronto. Fr. Matthews returned to his former high school and taught for two years before returning to the University of Toronto to formally study education — a life-long vocation of the late father.

Although he will be remembered for his tireless dedication to his many areas of commitment, one pastime took Fr. Matthews mind off everything else — baseball.

"He loved going to the Blue Jays (but) never treated himself to a half-decent seat," said Power, who attended many games with Fr. Matthews after they first met in the early '90s. "We always sat up in the 500 section and I'd say why are you sitting up here? I came all the way from Welland to sit up in the sky?

"So the last game we went to I had four very good tickets, courtesy of a friend of mine, so we sat behind the Blue Jays' dugout. He just marveled."

Power described Fr. Matthews as a true priest, a good man and genuinely humble human being. He drove a small car, had a modest apartment and always gave what he could to those in need.

"He did splurge for his TV, he subscribed to Rogers Sportsnet or whatever it is that carries the Blue Jays games," said Power. "For him that was almost a mortal sin, but I said listen, you like baseball, watch the games."

Fr. Matthews was a lot of things to a lot of people. To Power he was a boss, a man of God and most of all a friend.

"What I'll miss is just Carl, I don't know how else to say it," said Power. "The bond of true friendship is never broken, death cannot break that, but there is a loss. He's not here, he won't be phoning me anymore, he won't be writing me anymore. I will miss him."